Dear Literature, would you Please Stay Back?

If I can correctly recall, my relationship with English Literature dates back to kinder garden days, where my bookshelf would be filled up with books of various colours. It would range from pink, blue to purple. And as days rolled by, my literary collection started occupying more space. My family and friend circle played a crucial role in this regard, as I hail from the nerdy east, where you are kind of looked down upon, unless you show some acquaintance with Shakespeare or Conan Doyle. Thus, with each passing day, my love for literature aggravated.

Those days’ weekends used to encircle around visiting book stores, and a quick stroll around the street side book stalls. The stalls were usually crowded mostly of young folks like me, holding their fathers’ hands. There was a subtle flavor of innocence and friendliness mixed in the air...

My existing mind set was shaken a bit recently while visiting a book store in the vicinity. There were not too many people, hardly one or two college going girls, and a team of middle aged women, who displayed sadness of their conjugal life on their faces. They (the middle aged women) picked up books that read something like this: ‘7 Secrets to a Happy Marriage’ or ‘How to Win Your Husband Back?’ Disappointed, I looked up to the young folks, hoping they might be my savior. They picked up something random called ‘Men are from…., and women are from …..' and so forth. It kind of saddened me to note that people mostly are keen to read such pieces more than literature. Though, literally speaking, there is nothing practically wrong with this increased obsession, but where I get a little saddened is when literary work doesn’t get due recognition.

In his novel ‘Bookless in Baghdad’, Shashi Tharoor mentions that these days the youth is driven more towards fashion-trending pieces, and they hardly care about literature. What is more saddening is some of my close acquaintances also fell a prey. I mention this because I reposed a huge amount of literary faith in a techie friend of mine. During our school days, he enjoyed huge leverage at my place, and was often cited as an example of how profound his knowledge in books was. Indeed it was. During our normal conversations, he would often quote lines from Julius Caesar, and ‘The Cloud’. When I met him last year, I tried to blurt out some lines from the latest novel of Gabriel Garcia Marquez I read. And I received an unprecedented reply from his end that left me startled. For a moment I thought, if I was talking to some junkie, who practically had no interest in the literary world...On further enquiry, he revealed  that these days Sensex enticed him more than books.

Gradually, with the passage of time, I had to encounter many such situations where people had the same opinion. They were just not interested to uncarve literature, or possibly play with words. I felt those days are practically dying where the one who possessed a good vocabulary was respected or feared the most. The world labels you as 'old school' now if you try to establish a close connection with literature. Well, how would you make money out of it otherwise? The contemporary times want all writers to divide their writings into different subheads, approximately with the following percentage: 35 percent sex, 30 percent action, and the rest romance. Oh yes! Picture plays a pivotal role too. You are definitely not a qualified writer if you choose not to use pictures in your write-up…

If I could write a letter to Keats, Shelly or even Alexander Pushkin, I would like to ask them about the secret to their writing and how is it that they managed to rule the hearts of millions even today?

Alas, I don't have the liberty. And at the moment all I can say is:

Dear Literature,

I am aware of the sparse population you represent now, and I also know how grieved you must be, owing to the way we have been treating you. But, believe me, of the little heads that you represent, our love for you is genuine. Just for our sake, would you stay back?